Bahá’ís launch Anis Foundation to guide children's moral education

May 23, 2010 - PRLog -- A new foundation - inspired by the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith (founded more than a century and a half ago) - is being launched on 23 May, one of the most significant days in the Bahá’í calendar.

23 May is the ‘Declaration of the Bab’ – it commemorates the day in 1844 when the Bab (the herald of the Bahá’í Faith) announced in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), that he was the herald of a new messenger of God. It is one of the nine holy days of the year when work is suspended.

Managed by Tim Melville, who adopted the Bahá’í Faith when he was 15, the Anis Foundation is being launched to teach children moral education and a more spiritual way of living – to bind people and cultures together in their quest for a vision of humanity as one global family.

Tim, who is experienced in voluntary work with children and young people, sees a lot of children who have ‘lost their way’. He said: “Many of these children exhibit signs of a lack of moral education, which makes me very sad.”

Tim got together with fellow Bahá’ís, brother and sister Shawn Khorassani and Shohreh Fleming, to come up with the idea of the Anis Foundation. The three have known each other since the late 1990s. The name Anis means ‘companion’ and the initials are derived from Shawn’s children’s names – Anisa, Saba and Naseem.

The Anis Foundation has been created to teach children moral education centred on the Bahá’í principles, which are based on the essential message of unity (http://www.bahai.org). The Foundation’s mission statement is ‘United in peace and security’ and is based on a teaching from ‘The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh’ (p203) – “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

The Foundation’s first project is a collection of 27 downloadable short bedtime stories that are captivating and keep youngsters coming back for more. The stories range from titles such as ‘The Sheep’ and ‘The Bullies’ to ‘The Boat’ and ‘Fred’s Dream’, inspired by the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith.

Tim said: “These stories are suitable for children and parents to listen to together or for youngsters to listen to on their own. The problem of coming up with captivating stories day in, day out is the same for parents the world over – regardless of their cultural background.”

More details can be found at www.anis.org.uk – where you can also find a sample story to download.

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The Anis Foundation is inspired by the teachings of the Bahai Faith (founded more than a century and a half ago). The foundation's aim is to encourage a more spiritual way of living, a way which binds people and cultures together in their quest for a vision of humanity as one global family.